Charlie has a rare genetic condition known as mitochondrial depletion syndrome

Arturito’s dad disagrees with the ruling, remarking: “Olga and I didn’t believe it. Like Chris and Connie, we too desperately scoured the internet and eventually after stumbled across the nucleoside drug therapy.

“There was no guarantee it would work. But after being told by so many doctors there was nothing we could do at all, it was hope.

“We were also warned that these medications might cause side effects but as Arturito’s only alternative was death we didn’t see any harm in trying it.”

What is nucleoside bypass therapy?

Nucleoside bypass therapy is a new treatment that is taken as an oral medication.

It could theoretically have repaired Charlie’s mitochondrial DNA and helped it synthesise again by giving him the naturally occurring compounds his body isn’t able to produce.

A US expert said 18 people have been treated with nucleoside bypass therapy – including Arturito

But he added that none of them were in a condition as severe as Charlie’s.

The doctor, who cannot be identified, said treating Charlie was “clearly uncharted territory because no one has done this”.

Within days of meeting with a doctor, Arturito became the first person in the United States to have the therapy, and he’s since made important recovery steps.

His dad Arthur said: “We saw a difference in our son in just three months.

“Before the therapy he’d been unable to move his fingers or toes but after several months he could move his hands and feet.

“He was also more alert and awake. It was amazing to see our little boy coming back to us.

“There were no side effects either and after a year on the experimental medications he was well enough to come home.”